Don King has insisted he’s got no problem with Mike Tyson’s upcoming boxing fight with Jake Paul, despite the controversy surrounding the bout.
The two men are set to fight in just a few hours time, having first announced their showdown back in March.
It is Paul who is the favourite, with the 27-year-old 31 years younger than his opponent. He’s also fresher, too, having beaten Mike Perry back in July.
Tyson is Tyson, however. A formidable heavyweight in his prime, fans are hoping he can summon the magic of old one last time.
Boxing news: Don King has insisted he’s got no problem with Mike Tyson’s upcoming fight with Jake Paul, despite the controversy surrounding the bout
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Plenty have been quick to stick the knife into the two men. But King, speaking to the Daily Mail, has insisted he has no qualms with the pair.
He also insists he hopes reports saying Tyson will get $40million are true, too.
“I’m happy to see them get some money,” said the 93-year-old, who has had a turbulent relationship with Tyson over the years.
“Mike doesn’t need to verify or validate himself; he can just go and pick up the money.
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“They say he’s going to get $40m for this. I hope that’s true.
“Mike is in it to win it. He ain’t gonna quit. Jake Paul will be in for an evening of entertainment — and difficulty.’
King helped to shape Tyson into the heavyweight icon he’s known as around the world.
Their relationship hasn’t always been straightforward, however. In 1999, tempers flared with Tyson kicking the boxing promoter in the back of the head from the rear set of their car.
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Tyson was, at the time, in debt. And King, recalling the incident, has admitted he was left stunned by just how furious his fighter was.
“I flew him over to Cleveland on my private jet and we were in the car on the highway and he asked if I was rotted (carrying a gun),” he said.
“I said, ‘Yes, you know I don’t go anywhere without it. I’d be naked if I don’t have my gun’.
“I looked him in the eyes and knew that he was planning something lethal but once I said I was carrying my gun it slowed things down.
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Boxing news: Don King hopes Mike Tyson benefits financially from his showdown with Jake Paul
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“Carrying a gun was important to me. I was dealing with these guys that know no better — they are racketeers and mobsters who are out for blood and ready to kill. They are law-breakers not law-makers.
“Mike expressed how he wanted to get things done, but I didn’t know how angry he really was. He certainly showed me.”
He does, however, hold no grudges.
“When a man makes as much money as I made with Mike, there’s no way I can have disdain or lack of love for him,” he continued.
Boxing news: Don King holds no grudge against Mike Tyson despite their turbulent relationship over the years
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The bout between Tyson and Paul is set to reel in millions of viewers from around the world.
Who ends up securing bragging rights remains to be seen.